Cooperative Education Policies and Procedures Manual
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Cooperative Education Policies and Procedures Manual
Table of Contents
Section 1: Management Guide for Administrators
Section 2: Management Guide for Teacher-Coordinators
Section 3: Helpful Forms
Section 4: Current Labor Laws
Section 5: Marketing Education Student’s Training Portfolio
Associate Level Training Plan
Section 6: Marketing Education Student’s Training Portfolio
Management Level Training Plan
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Foreword
Cooperative Education has been a widely utilized work-based method of instruction in North
Carolina for more than sixty years. This instructional strategy can be invaluable in allowing
students to gain entry-level skills in the career area of their choice. Cooperative education
students have the opportunity to apply the skills learned in academic and workforce development
education courses when participating in this method of instruction. Additionally, cooperative
education empowers students to be responsible, ethical, and productive employees, therefore
teaching them to be good citizens in the society they will soon lead.
Maintaining quality Workforce Development Education programs is imperative in preparing
students to be the leaders of tomorrow. Build excellence in your schools using this instructional
work-based learning method.
Phillip J. Kirk, Jr. Chairperson Michael E. Ward, State Superintendent
State Board of Education N.C. Department of Public Instruction
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Acknowledgments
This manual has been developed to improve the quality of cooperative education in our public schools
and ensure compliance with federal and state legislation authorizing cooperative education as a method of
instruction. The State Board of Education has also adopted the policies in this guide to ensure quality in
workforce development programs utilizing this instructional method. Additionally, State Board of
Education policies have been adopted for the two other forms of work-based learning which may receive
credit: high school apprenticeship and internship.
We appreciate the input we received through surveys and questionnaires from all of North Carolina’s
Workforce Development Administrators as well as the input we received from the teachers utilizing this
methodology.
Jeanne Hunt and Carol Rainwater of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools were instrumental in the
development of the Management Guide for Teacher-Coordinators found in this manual. Their work
creating connecting activities for marketing education students is outstanding.
We gratefully acknowledge the following school systems for sharing documents to aid in the development
of this guide.
Cabarrus County
Guilford County
Charlotte-Mecklenburg County
Surry County
Additionally, we would like to thank the following Workforce Development Education Regional
Coordinators for their input in the development of this manual.
Horace Robertson Willie Randolph
Melinda Lassiter Shirley Ray
Greg Gift Danny Hardee
The standards represented in this manual will ensure that cooperative education maintains a high level of
expectation and integrity for all participants in the cooperative method of instruction. Your involvement
is crucial in building programs and providing this hands-on strategy to students.
June S. Atkinson, Director
Instructional Services
Kenneth W. Smith, Section Chief
Business and Marketing Education
Sonya Dismuke, Education Consultant
Marketing Education
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North Carolina State Board of Education Policies
for
Work-based Learning Methods Receiving Academic Credit
and
Federal and State Legislation Authorizing Work-based Learning
Adopted June, 2000
Public Schools of North Carolina
State Board of Education
Department of Public Instruction
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North Carolina State Board of Education
Chairman: Phillip J. Kirk, Jr., Member-at-Large
Lieutenant Governor: Dennis A. Wicker
State Treasurer: Harlan E. Boyles
Members: Kathy A. Taft, 1st Education District
Margaret B. Harvey, 2nd Education District
Edgar Murphy, 3rd Education District
Evelyn B. Monroe, 4th Education District
Maria Teresa Palmer, 5th Education District
Jane P. Norwood, 6th Education District
Ronald E. Deal, 7th Education District
Robert R. Douglas, 8th Education District
Zoe Locklear, Member-at-Large
Eddie Davis, III, Member-at-Large
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Adopted by the State Board of Education, June 2000
Standard Operating Policies for All Work-based Learning Methods Receiving
Academic Credit
• Students receiving academic credit for work-based learning experiences must participate in
one of the following forms of work-based learning:
1) High School Apprenticeships in which students are officially registered through the
Department of Labor
2) Cooperative Education through an appropriate workforce development education
course
3) Internships connected to course work in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study
(paid or unpaid)
Other work-based learning experiences do not receive academic credit.
• Students participating in high school apprenticeships, cooperative education or internships
(paid/unpaid) will earn academic credit based upon the number of hours spent in the
workplace and required projects (similar to senior projects/portfolios). Local Education
Agencies may increase the hourly requirements consistently for all forms of work-based
learning. Policy, on the minimum number of hours required, is provided in the chart below.
Schedule On-the-job/Work-based
Experience Required
Credit Earned for Work-based
Component
4 x 4 Block (Semester) 135 1 Carnegie Unit
A-B Day
(Year-long)
135 1 Carnegie Unit
Traditional (Year-long) 150 1 Carnegie Unit
• Work-based learning experiences must be documented on a student’s Career Development
Plan to ensure that the student is placed according to his/her career goals.
• Students receiving credit for work-based learning methods of instruction must complete an
official agreement among the school, business partner, student and parent/guardian
stipulating the requirements and responsibilities of all involved.
• Students desiring to earn academic credit for work-based learning experience outside the
academic year must follow the same policies and guidelines required during a regular school
year.
• Students cannot receive academic credit by providing school services such as bus driver,
cafeteria worker, office assistant, or teacher assistant.
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Adopted by the State Board of Education, June 2000
• Schools shall not allow early work release during the school day for students participating in
any other forms of work experience, such as a part-time job, unsupervised by the school.
• Multiple academic credits may not be given for the same work-based experience. For
example, a student cannot simultaneously receive academic credit for any two forms of work-
based learning.
Requirements for Apprenticeship
High school apprenticeship must follow all guidelines determined by Administrative Code, State
Law, and Federal Law, as well as the following:
Χ Registration by the Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training.
Χ Standards of Apprenticeship by which each program operates. These standards are
adjusted to meet the needs of each employer.
Χ A work process, which is a document that lists all the skills an apprentice will be learning
and the number of hours required for each skill during the course of the experience.
Χ A schedule of related instruction listing all related courses that must be completed by the
apprentice.
Χ A progressive wage scale must be followed for the apprentice, increasing as the skill
levels of the apprentice develop.
Requirements for Cooperative Education
• Students must be enrolled in a workforce development education (vocational and technical
education) course offering the cooperative method. The following five program areas offer
the cooperative education method of instruction:
1) Agricultural Education
2) Business Education
3) Family and Consumer Sciences Education
4) Marketing Education
5) Trade and Industrial Education
• A signed training ag
